I was at a loss for words. I couldn’t open my mouth. So I nodded my head and headed towards the front door. My mind was racing in overdrive. How dare this old motherfucker give us an ultimatum? Shit, he’s basically saying that if I didn’t help his son Miguel get his coke through my channels with the airline, then he was going to cut off Reggie’s supply. And then to talk shit about Damian like that. That shit he was on was bogus as hell! I knew I couldn’t tell him to his face what I was thinking so I thanked him for sending a driver to get me and then I told them both to have a good night.
Back at my place, I immediately got Damian on the phone. I told him everything that transpired at Marco’s house and then I told him that he needed to come by my place in the morning. After he assured me he would be by to see me, we hung up.
I believe I laid in my bed for about an hour before I was able to doze off. I kept thinking about my brother. I couldn’t wait until he got out of that God forsaken place and away from that dumbass wife of his. Shit, we had business to take care of. Not only did we need to find out who robbed me and killed Lucky, we also needed to find out who shot Reggie and lastly, we needed to get a handle on this shit with Marco.
I felt as if I was being backed up into a corner and I didn’t like it at all. Somebody needed to do something—and do something now.
New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson
Chapter 12 – Talking to the Cops
I tossed and turned all night. I didn’t think I got one good wink of sleep thinking about all the shit that was going on. I looked at my alarm clock and noticed that it was a few minutes after eight, so I got up and ran two miles on my treadmill. When I was done I took a long hot shower. My mind was all over the place. I couldn’t get Reggie off my mind. I needed to know how he was doing, but I dared not call his dumb ass wife. I wasn’t in the mood to curse her out this morning, so I figured I’d try my chances with going back to the hospital to see him.
After I got out of the shower, I slipped on a pair of cutoff Levi denim shorts and a tight fitted t-shirt with little Ms. Hello Kitty pasted on the front of it. This was going to be a dress down day for me, so I slipped on my blue leather Gucci drivers and my blue leather Gucci bag to match. After I combed my hair back into a ponytail, I was ready to hit the street. But before I left my apartment I pulled out my Blackberry and noticed that Damian had tried to call me twice. So I dialed his number back but it kept going to voicemail, so I left him a voicemail to let him know I was on my way to the hospital to see Reggie and for him to meet me there so we could discuss a few things.
On my way to the hospital, I fumbled with how I was going to break the news to my parents that Reggie was in the hospital with a couple of gunshot wounds. My mother would probably have a nervous breakdown, but my pops would play it cool and want to know what condition he was in. But the thought of the grueling questions I would get wasn’t something I was looking forward to, so I held out on the decision to call them for right now and proceeded to my destination. It was a Sunday and valet parking at the hospital wasn’t available. I parked my truck back in the parking garage.
While I was getting out of my truck, my Blackberry rang. It was Damian. I pressed the send button and said, “Hello.”
“I just got your voicemail about you coming up to the hospital to see Reggie,” he began. “But you may want to hold out on that for a bit ’cause I just got up here a minute ago myself and when I tried to go in his room to see if he was up, I got jammed up by a couple police detectives at the door.”
“What did they say?” I asked as my heart began to race.
“They asked me what my name was?”
“Did you tell ‘em?”
“I had to because the other detective asked me for my ID to see if I was lying to them.”
“What else did they say to you?”
“They wanted to know how I was related to Reggie. And then they asked me if I knew who shot him? But I told them I didn’t know shit.”
“Did you get a chance to see Reggie?”
“I saw him for a quick second.”
“Was he up?”
“He was lying back, but his eyes were open.”
“Did he see you?”
“Yeah, he saw me.”
“Was Vanessa there?”
“I didn’t see her.”
“Where are you now?” I continued to question him.
“I just walked out of the hospital.”
“Well, meet me on the third floor of the parking garage,” I instructed him.
“Okay.”
As soon as Damian reached me in the parking garage, my Blackberry rang, and it was Foxx telling me and Damian to get our asses up to Reggie’s room. Before I could tell him detectives were up there, he had hung up.
I told Damian and we did as we were told.
When we reached the hallway of Reggie’s room, the first person I saw was Stone standing next to the door, as if he was the bodyguard and protector of my brother. As I passed Stone, a man who has acted like my uncle since the time he and my father Foxx started hanging out back in the day, he gave me a look of disappointment. And when we entered Reggie’s room, Stone stepped inside the door. I was happy to see Reggie was wide awake. Foxx was sitting in a chair next to the bed.
“How you feel,” I asked my brother. He didn’t immediately say anything. I felt like my world was collapsing around me. The eyes on Damian and I made me feel as if we had destroyed the world and somebody forgot to tell us.
“I shouldn’t have to hear that my son was shot from Stone and anyone else,” my dad spoke up. I could hear the venom in his voice. “If I expect to hear it from anyone, it should be one of you two.”
Both Damian and I didn’t have a comeback. I felt small and I’m sure Damian felt the same. This supposed to be a joyous occasion, but now I was sweating bullets. I felt like the damn criminal who didn’t know what crime he was being convicted of.
“And your brother shouldn’t have to wake up to his fucking wife complaining about him getting another woman pregnant, because his fucking sister couldn’t control her fucking temper and mouth,” Foxx said. Foxx rarely swore. When he did, it meant he was either very upset or disappointed, or in my case, both.
Still, I didn’t say anything. What could I say? That I let a two-bit bitch get the best of me?
“Both of you, I don’t need this shit,” Reggie weakly stated. He raised his bed up a little. Both Damian and I were still standing at the foot of the bed. I’m sure Damian felt as I did, that we were on trial and was just finding out what the charges were.
“You,” he said at me. “You should know better Naomi. You don’t let anyone bait you like that, especially someone so below you like Vanessa. Come on, what in the fuck are you thinking?”
That was a question. I was now equally upset at myself because I could really see the pain Reggie was in, and I could only imagine the stress. I was really worried about his blood pressure, although the blood pressure monitor read 110 over 76. That number was 102 over 70 when we entered the room.
“And fuck Damian, two more locations were hit while your ass was here at the hospital,” Reggie said in the direction of Damian.
“I ask Damian to stay with me,” I immediately went to his defense.
“Naomi, just shut the fuck up for once, will you!” I was shocked. Reggie usually didn’t speak this way to me. He was visibly upset. As weak as he was, his voice raised an octave.
“Damn Naomi, I spoke to Marco, and he is right, this is a fucking business, a dangerous business. If Damian is my right hand man, my lieutenant-in-arms, he does need to be out there taking care of business when I’m not around. This is serious shit we are into. It’s so serious that you can be on top of the world one day, and six feet under the next.”
At that point, Reggie started coughing and Foxx got up and got him some water from the water pitcher that sat on the table next to the bed. Once Reggie drank some water, he wanted to say something else, but Foxx stopped him.
Stone stopped talking and I know it was to let that point hang in the air. It was all about effect. It was then that I realized that we were in a business that we could die at a moment’s notice. Hell, I should have realized that when Lucky was killed in front of me. For a minute, I was afraid when I was with Marco and his son, and just like that, I snapped out of it when I realized Marco was going to kill me. I converted back to my old self, and that in itself was dangerous. Fuck, I had to take this seriously. After all, this was a serious business.
“Reggie will be in the hospital for a couple more days,” Stone resumed speaking. “The nurse said he will be moved to the Critical Care ward tomorrow. I will be providing twenty-four hour protection for him the next couple of days. I have several cats including myself who will make sure he is not disturbed or bothered.”
“What about the detectives and hospital staff?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they have a problem with that?”
“No, I know people,” Stone said. And that was all he had to say.
“That also includes Vanessa,” Foxx stated. “I have already told her not to come to the hospital or even call. Plus, I told her that if she moves out, she better not take anything she didn’t have when she first moved in.”
“What about mom?” I asked.
“She knows, but she is spending time with her Aunt Trudy in Jersey City,” Foxx replied. “As long as Reggie is breathing, she is happy.”
I looked at Reggie and he was relaxed. His blood pressure had gone back down to a respectable 104 over 75. Inside I was elated. Reggie, Stone and Foxx had given me a lot to think about. I felt bad for Damian. He was more on the spot than me. He was the head of the business until Reggie got out of the hospital. My task was to keep my temper in check and don’t let petty bitches like those bitches I work with and Vanessa get under my skin.
I was a control freak . . . and one day it might get the best of me.
New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson
Chapter 13 – Dealing With Ultimatums
The tension was thick inside of Reggie’s hospital room. In a way, I was still processing everything. He had four visitors in his ICU room and not one member of the hospital staff had came by to complain or run us out of there. I knew it was because of Stone. The man carried a lot of clout, but I never knew how much until now. However, the tension was getting to me. I wanted to get out of there, but I knew there were some things that needed to be discussed concerning Marco and his son Miguel, so I endured the heat.
“How long ago did you talk to Marco?” I asked Reggie.
“A few minutes before the police got here. Why?” Reggie asked in return as he repositioned his body in the bed.
“When you spoke with Marco, did he tell you about the ultimatum he gave me concerning our business venture with him?” I asked.
“Of course not. He wouldn’t tell me something like that over the telephone? You know that's not how we handle our business. But we have a code setup, and he passed me the code to let me know his son Miguel would pay me a visit. Out of curiosity, what did he say?”
“He said he wanted to bring more of his supply here to the North, so Miguel can expand their operation. But they won't be able to do it unless our connections transport it through our channels.”
“How much is he talking?”
“He wouldn't give me numbers. All he said was that whenever the load came through he would give me a certain percentage of the street value.”
“And what percentage was that?” Reggie asked as he looked like he was grimacing in pain.
“Five percent.”
“He’s bullshitting you,” Reggie said as a smile formed on his face. “Did you tell him we had people we had to pay to get the shit through Customs?” “Of course I did. He knows how our whole operation works. And if you want my opinion, he's not concerned about the people who make this shit happen for us. At the end of the day, all he wants is for me to call and tell him that I will make it happen for him. And if I don't, he threatens to stop your supply.”
Reggie smiled again and as I looked around the room, everyone else had a smile on their face as well . . . everyone except Damian.
“What’s the fucking joke because I don’t get it,” I spoke up and let my opinion be heard.
“He was fucking with you Naomi,” Foxx stated. “He wanted to see what you were made of.”
“Yeah, Marco ain’t stupid, Naomi,” Reggie said. “He knows how much money we have made his ass. And he knows those motherfuckers in South America can’t make him the kind of money that we can. Needless to say, he needs us and we need him. But that shit he pulled with you was a test to see what you were made of, to check out your reaction.”
“Why would he do some shit like that?” I asked. I was pissed off now and wanted to kick Marco’s ass if that was possible.
“Because your brother is in the hospital,” Stone chimed in. “And Marco needed to know that if Reggie was to die, would you be able to take over the operation. It was just a simple test to see if you had the balls to step up and take over.”
It was something I had never thought about—Reggie dying. Even with him being shot twice, the only time I was worried was in the waiting room. But after the doctor told us he was fine and he would recover, the thought of Reggie dying left my mind. And I definitely didn’t want to lose my brother, or even think about stepping up to the throne to run our operation.
“When I was at Marco’s place, I was afraid he was going to kill me.” It seemed as if the words had just come out on their own. I said them and it was my mouth that moved, but where the words came from, I didn’t know. “He knew about you being shot and in the hospital, he knew about Lucky being killed and me being with him in the elevator, and he knew about the other two robberies that happened last night while you were here.”
“Maybe Marco is behind all of this,” Damian said.
Reggie looked at Damian after his statement. The room was so quiet. In fact, it was so quiet it became weird. It was apparent that everyone went into deep thought after Damian’s comment.
“Both of you,” Reggie said, his words directed at me and Damian. “Need to get a fucking grip. You do realize that if you weren’t my sister then we would probably be planning your funeral now? You don’t lie to a man like Marco . . . and both of you should know that. We’re trying to get this money so we can retire. And we can’t do it if everything is falling apart around us. Lying to that nigga Marco was the worst shit you could do. And Damian, you supposed to be my right hand so where in the hell are you getting shit like that from? Marco is the last motherfucker we need to be worrying about. He’s a businessman. And he’s only motivated when he’s making dough, so why don’t you get motivated and find out who is fucking with our shit! Because whoever it is, they know entirely too much and they’re interrupting our flow.”
“How can we be sure?” Damian asked.
“Because you, Reggie and Naomi would already be dead,” Stone volunteered. “All of you started this business and you thought you could fly under the radar forever. You thought you could stay small time . . . but as soon as you started doing business with Marco the tables turned y’all are in the big leagues. The stakes are high now. And everything Reggie has done has been right. From starting up the computer store to setting up operations inside the Polo Grounds and having accounts all over the world. They were all the right moves in my eyes.
Marco would be stupid not to take advantage of a set up like that. So, no, Marco is not your problem, Damian. Your problem is someone who wants what you guys have. And the possibilities are endless. But if it was me, I would scope out the competition. And I would also look deep inside my camp. You might find out there’s some unhappy cats amongst you wh
o want to shut your operation down. And the quicker you realize who it is, the quicker you can eliminate them. Keep in mind that if they don’t succeed in one way, then they could very well make that phone call to the FEDS and you don’t need that.”
I had a new found respect for Stone. The whole time he was talking, I kept my eyes on Foxx and Reggie. He had their undivided attention. Reggie was soaking it all in. My dad had that glow of pride in his eyes. Stone was his best friend and probably closer to Foxx than his own three brothers.
But I felt bad for Damian. In a way, he was the fall guy for all the shit happening and none of it was his fault. The shit that happened while Damian chilled with me in the waiting room while Reggie was in surgery was my fault. If there was blame for our guys getting jacked, that blame should be on me. And hell, if Damian had been there, he could have gotten shot or killed as well. In my mind, Damian didn’t do shit wrong.
After Reggie gave me a few more instructions, I kissed Stone and Foxx and left the room. Damian stayed behind because Reggie wanted to speak with him. I knew Stone, Foxx and Reggie were going to chastise Damian and school him on priorities. Reggie being shot had changed the game entirely. I’m sure I wouldn’t be privy to the whole new game plan. What I did know was Reggie would have a bodyguard with him at all times, including at his penthouse.
New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson
Chapter 14 – Welcome to the Lion’s Den
I woke up in a cold sweat. It was a nightmare, a recurring theme lately. In my bad dream, everywhere I went, I saw Lucky with his blown off face. He was stalking me, chasing me like he wanted to tell me something or worse, take me with him. Then I would have these different thoughts of Reggie being gunned down in various locations and every time he was gunned down, I was there witnessing the whole thing.
New York's Finest (1st of the Trilogy) Page 8
